The manufacturing of fiber-reinforced composite structures may include laying up composite plies on a layup mandrel or forming tool to form a composite layup. Heat and pressure may be applied to the composite layup to consolidate and cure the composite layup into a cured composite structure. Conventional method of curing a composite layup may involve the use of an autoclave to provide heat and compaction pressure to the composite layup to achieve the desired mechanical properties in the cured composite structure. The application of compaction pressure may facilitate the degassing of the composite layup during which gas (e.g., entrapped moisture, air, and/or volatiles) may be evacuated from the composite layup to avoid porosity and achieve high strength in the cured composite structure.
Unfortunately, the use of an autoclave may require extended periods of time to heat the composite layup to the required consolidation and curing temperatures. In addition, extended periods of time may be required to cool the composite layup to ambient temperature after curing. The amount of time required to process and cure a composite layup in an autoclave may be prohibitive for large-scale production programs requiring high part-production rates. In addition, autoclaves are a significant capital cost for construction, operation, and maintenance. Furthermore, the internal size of an autoclave may limit the size of composite layups that can be processed.
As can be seen, there exists a need in the art for a system and method of manufacturing a composite structure that avoids the need for an autoclave.